A study of the light-activated proton pump from Halobacterium halobium is proposed. Dynamic transport characteristics of the pump are measured by incorporating bacteriorhodopsin into a black lipid membrane (BLM) and recording the light-induced electrical current. The current is found to depend on voltage bias, light intensity and temperature. Furthermore, data obtained from these electrical measurements show that the translocation of protons is consistent with a first-order process characterized by a rate constant lambda. It is proposed to examine the variation of lambda with respect to external parameters such as voltage, temperature and so forth. A similar first-order process has been used to describe the basic features of the photo-reaction cycle. Experiments are proposed to further explore the connection between electrical measurements and light absorption measurements on this system. The rate at which protons are moved across the membrane depends on both the light intensity and bias voltage. Experiments are designed to answer the question of whether or not the bias voltage dependence should be considered an intrinsic property of the pump or light dependent pore or channel in parallel with the pump. The technique of vesicle fusion with a BLM has been used to incorporate bacteriorhodopsin. Although this technique has wide application for the study of other membrane transport systems the resulting configuration after fusion is not clear. Formation of the BLM from a monolayer containing bacteriorhodopsin is being investigated. The possibility of using electron microscopy to study the BLM after incorporation of bacteriorhodopsin is also being examined.